In the wake of the sex scandal involving resigning bureau chief Natan
Eshel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accepted Yoaz
Hendel´s resignation from his post as the head of the National
Information Directorate.

Netanyahu appointed Liran Dan, who has been managing the media and
spokesmanís unit at the Prime Minister´s Office, to take Hendel´s
place.

"The prime minister thanked Hendel for his contribution to the State
of Israel´s public relations efforts in the country and abroad," the
PMO said in a statement.

Dan, who is Netanyahu´s fifth spokesman in the current term, began
working at the PMO four months ago. He previously worked at Channel
2´s website.

Earlier Wednesday, just two days after telling Hendel and Hauser that
he had lost confidence in them, Netanyahu addressed the tensions with
his top advisers, saying he should not have had to learn about the
allegations against Eshel from the press.

"I will say what I think is the appropriate behavior, and what is
not," the premier said. "What is appropriate is that if there is a
suspicion of harassment, it needs to be dealt with according to the
law. That is exactly what I would have done."